Breaking Their Hearts
by Silverado17
Summary: Destiel. After a month of mildly strange circumstances, Cas gets a call from Dean saying that their relationship is over. Cas gets suspicious that things aren't all as they seem. I suck at summaries. Rating because I'm paranoid. Could probably be T. First story, don't hate. Warnings inside: read them before reading the story. Multi-chapter.
1. Chapter 1

_AN: So, I decided to finally post my first story after reading other stories on Fanfiction for years and writing a few for my own enjoyment. The fact that this is a destiel story is really strange because I typically don't ship it, although I do feel like it's most likely to become cannon. Anyway, this whole story is based off of one line in Taylor Swift's song, 'Last Kiss'. I got a minor idea, took it, and ran. I love the song and listened to it while writing the first part of this story. I would highly recommend listening to it. It's on Youtube. The line that inspired this was: "I'll watch your life in pictures like_ I used to watch you sleep _." You can probably guess how I got that. Oh, and, just so you know, the hurt/comfort part doesn't come up until close to the end._

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural :(_

 _I'm not a perfect writer._ Constructive _criticism is welcome, but be nice to my first published work, please! No beta, all mistakes are purely mine._

 _Warnings: Slash, self-harm, almost-suicide (I guess…), angst, mild violence/torture_

* * *

It started with Cas waking up alone and leaving the motel room he shared with Dean to see if Dean was in Sam's room. He and Dean had started getting a room separate from Sam's, not only so they could do what they pleased, but also so that Dean could _say_ what he pleased, because it was only Cas who he would allow to see his soft, mushy, almost vulnerable side as he whispered 'I love you' into the dark.

Cas had soon found a note on Sam's bed alerting him to the fact that they had heard of a hunt nearby and would return in a few days. The note should have set off warning bells, because it wasn't like them to leave him behind, and the note had been in Sam's handwriting instead of Dean's. Cas wouldn't accept that things were wrong though, so he accepted the note and went back to his room to await their return. He tried not to allow himself to sink into the empty feeling of self-doubt, but all he could think about was why they had left him behind. The only reason he could come up with was that they didn't think he was capable enough for whatever hunt it was. He wouldn't allow himself to think that Dean just wanted to get away from him, although Dean never once called.

A week after Cas woke up alone, he got a call from _Sam_ telling him that they had been led to another hunt a few states over and wouldn't be back for a while. Cas asked if he could talk to Dean. Sam told him that Dean was in the shower. Cas couldn't – wouldn't – believe that there was something off about Sam calling him while Dean was in the shower instead of the other way around. He told Sam to give Dean his regards before they hung up.

It was a month after Cas had last seen Dean before he finally got a call from the man himself rather than his younger brother. When Dean's caller ID had come up, Cas had been thrilled. When he'd answered the phone and heard Dean's voice, instead of feeling the rush of happiness as he expected, he felt apprehension. Something was wrong in Dean's voice when he said, "Hey Cas." Not 'hey sweetheart' or 'hey sexy' or any of his other usual greetings. Soon Cas knew why. "Cas, listen. I want you to know that you were one of the best things to ever happen to me. What I'm about to do is not your fault." There was a pause and Cas braced himself. "I… we… this isn't working anymore. Cas, I could give you a thousand excuses, but it's not gonna change anything. I just can't…" He could hear Dean taking a breath over the phone as he abandoned one line of conversation for another. "Our relationship is over Cas. We aren't going to be together anymore, and I think it would be best if we didn't see each other at all ever again. I'm sorry, and this might be the hardest thing I've ever had to do because I do love you, but what we had is over now." There was so much pain in Dean's voice when he said that, but Cas didn't pay attention to that. All he heard then were the words.

"Wait," Cas had said, feeling like he might be about to cry. "If this is so hard, and you still do love me, why are you doing this?" He couldn't control the desperation in his voice as he tried to fight for the best thing that had ever happened to _him_.

"Please don't ask me to explain. Just remember, I do love you." That was the last thing Dean had said before he hung up. Cas had immediately collapsed onto the floor, the cell phone dropping from his shaking hand as tears slid down his cheeks. What had just happened?

The next few days Cas spent in deep thought, which always brought him closer to spiraling out of control the longer he continued to think. He thought about the last time he'd seen Dean, unaware it was the last time they'd be wrapped in each other in the dark, kissing each other softly; the last time he'd look into Dean's beautiful green eyes and lose himself in them only to be brought out by Dean saying his name, amusement in his voice. He remembered times he would be talking to Sam in the bunker and Dean would saunter into the room, kissing him in the middle of a sentence. Sam had always made a face, and so had Cas, but Cas had secretly loved when Dean did that. He never would again. Cas briefly wondered if this would be what it would feel like if Dean had died. No, he decided, Dean's death would be worse. At least now he might be able to call Sam up occasionally on the ruse of asking information for a hunt – because what else would he do with his life but hunt – and hearing Dean's voice in the background, asking who was on the phone. He wondered what Sam would say.

He found himself one day sitting against the wall a corner of the motel room, not a weapon near him, just curled with his knees to his chest and wearing one of the shirts Dean had left behind. He almost wished something would come into the room and kill him. He felt like there was nothing left for him. Dean had loved him and now he was gone. But Dean had said he still loved him. This was the hardest thing he had ever done. So why had he done it? Cas felt the now familiar tears on his cheeks once again.

The next time he was conscious he realized he was saying Dean's name. The realization that he'd cried himself to sleep and then began to dream about Dean hit him hard. Now, not even sure what he was thinking, he went over to his duffle and pulled out the silver knife he kept there. He began to drag it down his left wrist, not going deep enough to hit any veins just yet, but definitely deep enough sting. He understood now that there wasn't much left for him. He would never be able to love someone else as deeply as he had Dean. He would never even see Dean again. Though he had thought of calling Sam just to hear Dean's voice distantly, he told himself it would only make things worse because Dean would refuse to talk to him.

He would never again feel Dean against him, never look into those eyes again, never watch him sleep as he once had as an angel before he had needed sleep himself, never kiss Dean's perfect lips again. The smell of Dean was slowly fading from the shirt he had left behind, and soon all that he had left of Dean would be gone. There was no going back to heaven now – not as he used to anyway – no mission and no Winchesters, so there was nothing at all. Time to end the heartache, he decided. He was on his third cut, still not going deep enough to kill himself yet as he thought of how 'out of the blue' it was for Dean to change his mind about their relationship when the thought hit him.

Maybe this wasn't what it appeared to be. Forgetting his grief, forcing himself to think objectively for the first time in days, he recognized something was _wrong_ with this whole scenario. The last time he'd seen Dean, things had been great. Then he had just left, just like that. It wasn't like Dean, not at all. Comprehension flooded his consciousness and he felt like the most supreme idiot of all time. Sam and Dean had been taken a month ago, and there was no way to know if they were still okay, or what they were going through, or what had taken them, or why, or where, but he knew he had to find out or else he would never forgive himself for letting something happen to them. He just didn't know how he hadn't seen it before. If he was right, he was sure Dean or Sam or both would berate him for it later, and he wasn't sure if that was what he wanted or not – either Dean was safe but wanted to never see him again, or Dean wanted to see him again but his life was in danger.

Deciding he could figure that out later, he put a bandage on his self-inflicted wounds, put on his over coat, and walked himself to the library. Finding a computer in the back while yet mourning the fact that Sam's was gone, he somehow managed to get a program running and put a trace on Dean's cell. The signal was coming from a small town in Nebraska. It was a start. If he was wrong and Dean was perfectly safe, then he would accept the punches that might be thrown. He wasn't willing to be in doubt about Dean's safety though. He just wasn't.

 _AN: So, is Cas just desperate for Dean to still love him, or is he right about him and Sam being taken?_


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: So, here's chapter two. Enjoy!_

* * *

 _ **Two Months Ago**_

Azrael felt himself being summoned shortly before he found himself standing in a sewage system. Looking around, he saw two figures standing on either side of him. One looked like an Asian man, while the other looked like a Caucasian American. He sensed immediately they were shapeshifters. He studied them before asking, "What do you want?"

"We would like your help with something," the Asian looking one said. "We need an angel for assistance, and we chose you because, after all, your domain is retribution. Besides, you might get a little something out of this. If you don't want to do it we can get someone else though."

"What is it you have in mind?"

"Well, we want revenge on the Winchesters. They killed our brother. The thing is, though, we don't want to just kill them," the American one said. "We want them to suffer before they die. First emotionally, then physically, then we will end them. We want to stretch this out for a period of at least two months if not more, which is why we wanted to recruit an angel. The longer we hold them, the more likely they are to get loose. The more people we have watching them, and the stronger those people are, that possibility of their escape is reduced."

"In what way would this benefit me?" the angel asked.

"Well, the Winchesters are pretty close to Castiel, and it would only increase their misery if we made him miserable, and we know the angels aren't especially happy with him after what he did, making you all fall, so we thought we'd let you come up with something fun for him. We don't have all the details worked out about any of this, so feel free to give any input," the Asian said.

"So, you in?" the American asked.

"I will join you," Azrael agreed.

It only took them a matter of weeks to have a plan in place. About a month after forming their new alliance, temporary as it was, they kidnapped the Winchesters – Azrael took care of that because he would be able to erase any memory of it from Castiel's mind if he happened to wake up while he grabbed Dean, and Azrael was harder to kill if either of the Winchesters woke up, which they somehow didn't.

The Winchesters were taken to a remote location in Nebraska – an abandoned warehouse because Azrael refused to stay in a sewer and the two shapeshifters – Dante and Adriano – agreed it would be a nice change. Once they got there they woke up the two hunters. Before any questions or demands for answers could be voiced, Dante, the Asian looking one, held a gun to Dean's head while Adriano, the American, handed a piece of paper and a pencil to Sam. "Write a note to the angel," he said. "I want it to say this and nothing else, because I don't trust you not to put in some warning or call for help. I want all grammar to be correct as well. If you don't do exactly as I say and nothing more the first time, your brother's brains will paint these walls and this floor. Am I understood?"

"Yeah," Sam said nervously. He wasn't about to try anything now. Not with a gun resting on his brother's head. He hadn't had enough time to evaluate the situation so he wasn't going to risk the dangers that might lie in trying to call this person's bluff. These guys were way to calm about this – they weren't rushing and they seemed like they knew what they were doing. This might be hard to get out of. He just hoped Cas might catch on that the situation wasn't normal when he woke up and they were gone.

"Write out this, exactly: 'Cas, Dean and I got wind of a hunt nearby and decided to take it. We'll be back in a few days. Stay put.' Then sign your name at the bottom."

Sam did as he was told, trying to keep his hand from shaking. He was nervous, adult or not. Adriano examined the message carefully. It was exactly as he had asked. "Good boy. You just kept your brother alive for a few more weeks." That was the last thing either Winchester was aware of before they were both knocked out by the two shifters. Azrael delivered the note back to Sam's motel room and then took all the Winchester's clothes that he could find, being a bit more careful in Castiel's room. He came back to the warehouse carrying two duffle bags full of clothes and one filled with weapons. After depositing them, he left again and found the Winchester's car in the parking lot and transported it to the back parking lot of the warehouse.

* * *

Sam woke up with a headache. Putting his hand to his head, he winced when he felt a knot forming. Then he saw Dean laying next to him, out cold on the floor, and the memories came surging back. He had woken up earlier in the night to find that he and Dean had been taken by three… things. He was pretty sure they weren't human. It had looked like they were all in a warehouse. Then one had put a gun to Dean's head and for a second Sam had feared the worst. Then one of the others pushed down on Sam's shoulder and forced him to sit down at an empty table before telling him to write Cas a note explaining that they had left and would be back in a few days. He had been so terrified in those moments that trying something to warn Cas had been out of the question in his mind. There would be other opportunities for escape, he hoped. He just wanted to make sure Dean lived to see those opportunities. After the note was approved he remembered nothing. There was a third guy, other than the one who threatened Dean and commanded him, but he hadn't gotten a great look at him. He wondered if these were demons.

He shivered suddenly. It was the end of February and still cold, but earlier they had been in a nice warm motel and Sam had been in a room by himself, so he had slept in boxers and a t-shirt the night before. Technically, he supposed, it might still be night. Anyway, whatever building they were in didn't have a heater, and he was getting cold. He and Dean were surrounded by concrete walls and a concrete ceiling, and the only door was solid metal. There was no furniture.

Soon Dean woke up. He seemed to run through the same thought process as Sam had, before he began to shiver as well. Dean had apparently slept in sweats and no shirt. "You ok, Sammy?" he asked in typical Dean fashion.

"I'm fine. I wasn't the one with a gun held to his head," Sam said. Dean gave him a look that clearly told Sam that he knew Sam had been spooked by the sight. The fact that you've seen your brother close to death a million times – even at death – didn't make it any easier to go through again. "You good?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Dean said, even though he had the mother of all headaches and he was freezing and he had no freakin' clue how to get out of the place he was in. Then a thought struck Dean. "Cas," he said.

"Yeah, what about him?" Sam asked. It didn't come out rude. He just didn't know what Dean was getting at.

"You think he's alright? I mean, they may not have left any witnesses…"

Sam gave a slight nod of understanding. "I'm sure he's fine. I mean, they made me write that note to him."

"Yeah, I know, but why would they take us and not him?" Dean pointed out. "Not that I wish he'd been taken, too. I'm just trying to get a good understanding of what's going on."

"Yeah," Sam said. "I don't know… Is it just me, or do you get the feeling we won't be coming back when that note says we will."

"It's not just you," Dean said. "Do you think maybe Cas will catch on that this isn't normal?"

"I hope so, but you know him better than I do. What do you think?"

"I don't know," Dean said. He was about to say something, and Sam knew it, but then he hesitated.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"Well, I shouldn't tell you this because it's kind of private information, but I will because it may affect our situation. Ever since Cas became human, he's had a lot of insecurities. He still blames himself for all the angels falling, and whenever he realizes something useful he can't do anymore because he's human – like healing us, for example – it makes him feel useless. I've tried to talk to him about it, and I think I've helped, but he's still got a lot to work through. I mean, he was thrown into human emotions as an adult – he never really got a smiling, sunny childhood to give him time to adjust to it all. He had to deal with a lot all of a sudden without emotions being thrown in. So it wouldn't surprise me if he reads that note and thinks that the reason we left without him is because we think he would have been too incompetent to handle whatever hunt." Dean was suddenly taken back to that awful day he'd found Cas cutting himself. Apparently it had been the first time and as far as Dean knew the last. He'd had a good long chick-flick moment with Cas after that because damn it Cas was worth it.

Then the door to the room opened and one of the three men came in. Sam recognized him as the one who had stood back while the other's got hands-on with Dean and Sam, ordering them to send Cas a message. "Hello Winchesters, glad to see you're awake. I brought the two of you some clothes from your motel rooms. I believe it might be little less than warm here." As he said this, he put a stack of clothes on the ground near the door.

"Who are you?" Dean demanded. "What do you want with us?"

"My name is Azrael. I'm an angel. As far as what we want with you, we being myself and the two shapeshifters outside, you'll find out soon enough. For now, just be patient and wait." With that he was gone.

"Freaking angels," Dean muttered. "'Be patient and wait' doesn't sound so hot either."

Sam didn't respond. He went over to the stack of clothes and sorted out his and Dean's, grabbing a pair of sweats and an old hoodie for himself before tossing Dean a t-shirt and a flannel over-shirt. Dean grunted his thanks as he began to dress, ignoring how ridiculous he would look in sweats and plaid. "I guess they had to grab our stuff so Cas wouldn't get suspicious," Sam commented.

Dean nodded solemnly. "I wonder what they did about baby," he mused.

"Well, that guy said he was an angel, Dean. I'm sure he would be able to transport your car."

"Yeah," Dean said.

* * *

 _AN: Please drop me a review and let me know what you thought about it/what I could improve on! Plenty more to come!_


	3. Chapter 3

_AN: Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!_

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural, even though I'd love to, and I'm not making any money off this. Don't sue or whatever._

What might have been hours later, the three _creatures_ came into the room Sam and Dean were sharing, shutting the door behind them and blocking it well. "We're about to tell you what's going to happen over the next however many weeks," said the shifter who had held the gun to Dean's head. "First, to make things easier, my name is Dante. This here is my brother Adriano. That's Azrael. Now, the reason you're here is that a few years ago my other brother, Zeke, was killed by hunters. We did all we could to find out which hunters, and finally we did. It was the Winchester brothers. The time has now come for us to take vengeance."

Now Adriano picked up the story. "Here's what's happening. We put that note Sam wrote in Sam's room, and we took away all your belongings and stashed your car. Castiel is going to be of the firm belief that the two of you are on a hunt. Then, about a week from now, we'll either get Sam to call Castiel, or one of us will do it posing as Sam, and tell Castiel that the two of you are going to be gone for a little longer than planned. If Castiel asks about Dean, he will be informed that, for whatever reason, he doesn't want to talk right now. Hopefully, if we do this right, Castiel will start getting worried when the only one he hears from is Sam. Then, a month from now, after you've both had plenty of time to anticipate the breaking of your dear angel's heart, we're going to have Dean – the real Dean – call and break up with Castiel. He'll tell him it's over, they won't see each other again, and that's the end of it. Not only will this eliminate Castiel from our list of ways the two of you might be rescued, but it will put all three of you in pain. Then the two of you will spend the rest of your lives being tortured, because just killing the two of you would be far too easy. Now, I'm sure you're wondering why we have the angel here. He's here because he also reduces the risk of you two getting away, and he'd like to see Castiel suffer. Any questions?"

"How do you know we won't try to get a message to Cas?" Dean couldn't help asking. He wanted to make sure there wasn't a way to do that without getting himself or his brother killed. "I mean, can you go into a little more detail on the whole communication thing?" Dean ignored the 'are you insane' look Sam was giving him.

"Well, we're having Sam call him in a week because he's less likely to notice a change in Sam's demeanor over the phone than yours. Now that I think about it, I believe I'll pose as you, Sam," Adriano said. "Just to keep the conversation nonchalant and all. Then there will be no communication until it's Dean who calls him, the real Dean, on his phone. The fear that will surely be in his voice as he sees his younger brother with a gun to his head will be interpreted as regret, I'm sure. And Castiel will be on speaker. We may or may not have Azrael delving into your mind to make sure that you don't do anything stupid."

"Any more questions?" Dante asked. The Winchesters shook their heads and were soon left alone.

* * *

Over the next days, all they saw of the three holding them was when they were brought food twice a day. Sleeping was torture on the cold floor. Waking up was even worse. Life was over all pretty sufferable. All Dean could think about was the phone call he would have to make. He knew it would break Cas's heart. That was already crushing him. All Sam could think about was the pain he saw on Dean's face daily, the pain he knew was brought on by the thought of what was to come. He couldn't help but feel pain at it as well. Cas was his friend too, almost like a brother to him, which he had always had to stop himself from looking into too deeply, because then one of his brothers was dating his other brother…

It was two days before Dean was scheduled to make that call when he finally just broke. He and Sam had just finished their first meal of the day when he started looking angry. Having a vague idea of what might be coming, Sam waited for it to arrive on its own. "I refuse," Dean finally said. "I'm sick of this. We are literally just sitting here, wasting away. This isn't doing anyone any good. I know you look exhausted and I can't look much better, but we have to do something. We haven't even tried to get out. We've just accepted that they know what they're doing and there isn't a way out, but I can't just wait around to die after breaking the heart of the man that I… that I love. Sammy, we have to do something." Dean sounded undeniably desperate when he said it.

Sam looked at him. He knew good and well that Dean loved Cas, but hearing him say it, which was rare, somehow struck something inside of Sam. Maybe it was just the blunt honesty behind the statement. Whatever it was that caused it, Sam knew in that moment that Dean was right. They has just given up, and quickly at that. He was suddenly disappointed in both of them for letting this continue for so long. "Alright, what do you have in mind? Whatever it is I'm game."

"Let's try to get the door open," Dean decided as a good starting place. "For all we know it may not even be locked." That got them nowhere. "Ok, forget Plan A. now for plan B. Why don't we just try to make a break for it the next time they bring us food?" Dean took a pause before taking off his flannel shirt. "I'll throw this at whoever it is, create a diversion. As soon as it comes in contact with his face, we run. Sound good?"

"I don't have any better ideas," Sam said, although he was secretly skeptical. He wasn't going to say anything though, because he'd prefer an unlikely plan that might work to just doing nothing and accepting their fate.

The next time the door opened, Dante walked in. Dean's plan was initiated. It almost worked, but Adriano was standing directly outside the door and heard his brother's yell of surprise. He apprehended the Winchesters before they could make it three steps out the door and effectively knocked them out.

* * *

This time it was Dean who awoke first. He surveyed the room he was in, grateful that it was empty except for him and Sam. Unfortunately, he soon realized they were both tied with their hands behind their backs and their ankles together. "Great," he muttered. Then Sam was groaning, so Dean turned his attention to his younger brother, who was apparently beginning to wake up.

"Dean?" he mumbled.

"Right here, Sammy," Dean said. "You ok?"

"Fine, you?"

"Sure," Dean said, even though he wasn't. He had a headache and he was going to have to break up with the love of his life and quite probably his soul mate in a mere two days, and he was hungry, and their food apparently hadn't been left behind for them, and he had no plan, and he was going to die in a few weeks.

"That went well," Sam commented.

"Shut up," Dean groaned. Sam just gave him an unsure smile, like he was trying to act like things were ok, even though they weren't even close. "Well," Dean started, "I'm fresh out of genius escape plans, so it looks like I'm going to have to do it."

Sam looked at him sadly. "I think you might be right, and then it's over; for all of us. Dean, we've faced demons and the devil himself and so many things that should have turned out bad, that seemed worse than this, but now we can't get out of this. I mean, with all the other things we'd been through, you'd think we could survive this, but it doesn't look like we can, and it's going to be the end of not only the two of us, but also, possibly, probably, the end of Cas, and there's not even anything we can do about it."

Dean examined his brother. "Sammy, that's not like you, to just give up like that." Then a thought crossed Dean's mind. "Or are you Sam?" The thought that it could be one of the shifters looking like his brother again chilled Dean.

A wicked smile came across not-Sam's face as he quickly cut through his bindings and stood over Dean. "How clever," he said. "I was hoping I could play with you a little more, pretending to be your brother, but I can certainly still play with you now."

That was the last thing the shifter said to Dean before he began to cut into him with the knife he'd used to cut himself free. Dean refused to cry out, but the creature kept cutting and Dean wondered when he would be done. It was hard, but Dean forced himself to remember that this wasn't Sam, Sam wouldn't do this to him. Finally the thing went behind Dean, after he had been turned into a bloody mess of cuts and gashes. He didn't leave the room though. He got something from the floor behind Dean, and the next thing the hunter knew, there was the sound of something hissing through the air before he felt an impact on his back, then the burn of a whip lash. He received 15 stroked before the creature untied him and left him on the floor, alone and bloody. Dean had a moment to wonder which was worse before welcoming the darkness overcoming him.

Two storage rooms away, in an identical room, Sam woke up around the same time Dean had. He looked at the figure lying on the other side of the room, awake. He thought it was Dean.

"You ok?" he asked Sam.

"Yeah, you?" Sam asked in return.

"No, I'm not. I'm days away from breaking Castiel's heart. How do you think that feels? Or maybe you know. After all, you've done the same to me on several occasions, starting with when you left us when you were 18. Then there was that time you chose that stupid demon over me. And of course you allowed Lucifer to take control of you after you said he could take your meat suit, which resulted in me getting the beating of my life. And you didn't even have the decency come back with a soul after that."

The words were harsh, and they made Sam crumble for a moment. He never would have thought he'd hear those words in that tone from his own brother. Then he realized – Dean would never say that to him. "You're not my brother," he said, hoping with all he had it was true.

"Well, that ended sooner than I hoped. Oh well, that means more time to cause you physical pain. Isn't that fun?" It wasn't long before Sam was given the same treatment as Dean. Darkness consumed him as well once the monster in his room left him in a puddle of blood and solitude.

The next time Dean woke up, he was untied, but whenever he moved it cause stinging pain to radiate through his body. His shirt was in tatters, but his jeans were still intact. He noticed someone that looked like Sam on the other side of the room, but he couldn't be sure. He almost hoped it wasn't, because he almost looked worse than Dean felt.

"Dean?" Sam (?) asked. He sounded like he was in pain.

"Yeah, it's me, but is that really you?" Dean asked suspiciously.

"I could say the same thing. Last time I woke up, one of those shifters made himself look like you and started torturing me," Sam said.

Dean winced in sympathy. "Same here," he said. "I figured it out after he started saying how it was over for everyone. He sounded too hopeless to be you."

"Yeah, I figured it out after he started saying how I was a failure as a human being," Sam said.

A look of anger came across Dean's face. "He said that?"

"Not in so many words, no. Look, I guess you're acting like yourself, so let's just assume we are who we look like."

"Ok," Dean said.

"Listen, I just had a thought," Sam said.

"Ok, I'm all ears," Dean said.

"Well, we both figured out that the shifters weren't who they were posed as. Maybe Cas will too, in which case we might have a shot."

"Well, let's look at this for a minute. All they've been telling him is basically that we aren't coming. That doesn't take much acting, and they're getting the real thing to break up with him. So he doesn't have as much to go on, but I hope you're right all the same."

Silence fell over them after those words were spoken.

 _AN: The end to another (hopefully) great chapter. I'm going on a tr_ ip soon and I won't be able to post anything _while I'm gone so I'm thinking about posting another chapter tonight. We'll see what happens._ Please let me know what you think about this. A Review would absolutely make my life. 


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: So, two chapters in one night. That's definitely a record. This one is the shortest, but the last one was the longest so far, so I think they balance out. Enjoy!_

 _Disclaimer: The best show on earth (Supernatural - duh) does not belong to me. :'-(_

The day that Dean was to break up with Cas came much too soon for both Sam's and Dean's likings. Both brothers woke up in pain. It was around midday when they were dragged out of their room and into the big open space in the middle of the building. Dean felt like he was going to fall apart. He couldn't stand the thought of what was about to happen. Before Dean even realized it, Sam had a gun to his head, and his own cell phone was being pressed into his hands, Castiel's phone already ringing on the other end. It was on speaker, as promised.

When Cas answered the phone, Dean said, "Hey Cas." He hoped Cas would take his unusually cold greeting, with a lack of nicknames, as a sign of danger. He hardly ever greeted Cas as simply as with his name. Of course, after what was to come, the man might just take it as being an effect of an ended relationship. "Cas, listen. I want you to know that you were one of the best things to ever happen to me. What I'm about to do is not your fault." Dean paused. He really hoped he could do this well enough to keep Sam alive for a while longer and yet not completely destroy his angel. Maybe he could let him down easy…? "I… we… this isn't working anymore. Cas, I could give you a thousand excuses, but it's not gonna change anything. I just can't…" Dean stopped and took a deep breath. The shifter behind Sam seemed to push the gun a little firmer into Sam's head as he did so, sending him a message. _Be careful not to get your brother killed._

Dean really hated them all. He made a vow to himself that if he made it out of this alive, he would see to it that these guys regretted being born, or however it was they entered the world. If he didn't make it out alive, maybe he could haunt them as a ghost. Yeah. That sounded good. Bracing himself, Dean forced himself to continue. "Our relationship is over Cas. We aren't going to be together anymore, and I think it would be best if we didn't see each other at all ever again. I'm sorry, and this might be the hardest thing I've ever had to do because I do love you, but what we had is over now." Dean knew that was the closest thing he could say to 'I don't want to do this' without getting Sam hurt. Yeah, Sam was going to get hurt, but at least this way it wouldn't be Dean's fault.

"Wait," Cas had said, and Dean was sure Cas was about to cry. "If this is so hard, and you still do love me, why are you doing this?" He sounded unspeakably desperate as he said it.

"Please don't ask me to explain. Just remember, I do love you." Then the phone was taken out of Dean's hand and the call was ended.

"Well done, Winchester, you just might have bought yourself and your brother a little more time," said the shifter who wasn't holding Sam.

Then the angel made a motion to the two shifters, who forced Sam and Dean to come up to him, both with guns to their heads now. Before they could protest, Azrael had two fingers on each of their foreheads, and images flooded their minds – images of Cas. His phone was lying on the floor beside him, and he was sitting on the floor, his back resting against the wall of the room they'd left him in. He was shaking all over, and tears were streaming down his cheeks. Heart-wrenching sobs were coming from his mouth. Then blackness overtook them both again.

The next days were filled with pain for the Winchester brothers. All their wounds that had begun to heal were brutally reopened. They were beaten and kicked and burned and it wasn't long until both of them found it a challenge to locate a section of their body that wasn't in pain. Either there was bruised skin or torn skin, or even no skin. It reminded them both of Hell. The memory of what Cas had been experiencing last they knew of him wasn't helping.

Sometime after Dean had called Cas, a few days probably, he and Sam were in that room alone again. "Dean, what do we do?" Sam asked, sounding border-lined desperate.

Dean looked at his brother, and his heart nearly broke. Again. Sam looked so battered. "I don't know Sammy, but we're gonna get through this. Somehow, we will survive. We've still got time to figure something out. We don't have much, but we have each other, and that's enough. We're Winchesters, and we're hard to beat. This isn't the end for us. You just wait and see."

Sam wished he could believe Dean, so he allowed himself to. He smiled at his brother.

Dean wished as much as Sam he could believe his own words, and he had to put on a brave face for Sam, but the truth was he thought they were going to die like this. He couldn't let Sam know that, though. So he told himself that he was telling the truth, and he almost believed it. That was when they heard the gunshots outside.

 _AN: Free invisible pie will be shipped to your door if you review! Sorry I ended with a cliffie. Next chapter won't be up until close to the end of the month. I'm thinking I can get two more chapter out of this, or maybe one chapter and an epilogue. We shall see. TTFN (Ta-ta for now in case you weren't a fan of Winnie the Pooh growing up as I was)._


	5. Chapter 5

_**AN: I know it took forever, but I didn't have access to my computer so I couldn't post. In my defense, this is the longest chapter. Three cheers for hurt/comfort and super-awesome-supportive-Dean that are coming your way in this chapter!  
**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own it, but I don't make money from this.**_

 _ **Special thanks to SyNnEE for the review and for the favorite! Both made my day!**_

* * *

 _ **Earlier that day**_

Cas drove the rental car far above the legal speed, but he couldn't bring himself to care. The drive to Nebraska was many hours long, but he was determined to reduce that time as much as was humanly possible. He was coming for Dean (and Sam), and if he was wrong about what was going on, then fine. Dean could yell at him, hit him - he didn't care. He just had to make sure Dean was alive and well. If he had been taken, someone, or something, was going to die.

After 6 hours, Cas finally pulled into the parking lot of an abandoned warehouse. He killed the engine, hoping no one had heard it. This was definitely not the typical place Dean Winchester chose to hang out at. Deciding the best move was to survey the premises, Cas took a quiet, careful walk around the building. He found the Impala parked behind it. Knowing Dean had better weapons stashed in the trunk than Cas had with him, he opened it and took out one silver-loaded pistol, one salt-loaded sawed-off, and then gently closed the trunk again. He now had two firearms to go along with his angel blade and silver knife.

Cas entered the building through a side door that opened into a large room that appeared to occupy most of the structure. He stayed in the shadows to avoid being seen. He spotted two men close to the middle of the room. They seemed to be contemplating a table, and on that table was what appeared to be an array of torture devices. He saw knives and whips and hammers and iron rods that could only be used for burning... skin... Feeling anger and nausea rise up within him simultaneously at the thought of those being used on the Winchesters – especially Dean – he walked forward, abandoning the shotgun since he was sure he wasn't dealing with ghosts. "Hey!" he yelled, getting their attention.

"Crap," said one. The other just froze when he saw the anger written on Cas's features.

Hoping it was the right weapon, Cas shot the one who'd had a verbal reaction in the chest with a silver bullet. As far as he could tell, the thing was dead when it collapsed onto the ground. The other suddenly seemed to come out of its stupor and surged toward Cas, only to be met with the same fate as his partner. Cas waited for a minute, making sure that nothing else was going to come and try to avenge the fallen beings, before he turned his focus to finding Sam and Dean.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile**_

Dean looked at Sam, hope in his eyes. Maybe his words were going to turn out true after all. Sam returned Dean's gaze. They both had the same thing in their eyes – hope. "You think, maybe…"

"Cas," Dean said with a nod. "Who else would it be?"

"Maybe another hunter?" Sam suggested, earning a glare. He hadn't really meant it. He somehow knew, just as Dean did, that this was Cas.

"You think we should call for him?" Dean asked, "You know, so he'll know where we are."

"Cas!" Sam called as an answer. Dean repeated him.

"Dean! Sam! Are you alright?" Cas asked from the other side of the door a few moments later.

"We're fine, just get us out of here," Dean replied.

"I'm trying," Cas said, before he finally found the correct key on the key ring he'd seen on the table outside. When he opened the door, he was completely unprepared for the sight that awaited him. Sam and Dean had definitely been through the ringer. They had innumerable cuts marring their flesh, along with what appeared to be burns. There were bruises as well. Cas couldn't be sure, but he thought he might be seeing broken fingers, and Sam might have been sporting a broken nose. He wasn't sure he wanted to imagine what was hidden beneath their clothes. "Oh my," was all he could say.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you," Dean said. He held himself back from giving Cas a hug and a kiss and everything else. This was not the time or the place for it. Then a thought crossed his mind. "What did you shoot those things with?"

"Silver bullets," Cas said.

"Good. They were shapeshifters. Or at least, two of them were. Did you see a third out there?"

"No," Cas said. "What was the third?"

"An angel," Sam said. "His name's Azrael, I think. He must be gone for now."

"Good. Now please, come with me. I need to get the two of you to a safer place. Then I intend to deal personally with Azrael. I believe the expression is 'he is a dead man walking'."

"Not so fast, Castiel," said a condescending voice behind Cas. He turned around quickly and, spotting the angel, moved between him and the two brothers."

"Please, as if you could protect them from me. I was already more powerful than you before you pawned off your grace to Metatron."

"I will not allow you to harm them anymore than you already have," Cas said tersely.

"You will not be able to stop me." There was a pause as Azrael seemed to consider something. "I wasn't exactly expecting you to figure out what was going on here, but it looks like you almost didn't figure it out in time, so I suppose I can see that as a small victory." He seemed to relish whatever it was he was seeing in his mind's eye. "You came so close to going through with it, didn't you?"

"Cas, what's he talking about?" asked a worried Dean. He had stayed silent since the angel had arrived, but something about what was being said was setting off alarm bells.

Cas, for the time being, ignored Dean. His attention, and anger, was focused solely on Azrael. "What matters is that you failed to fool me completely and you are now going to perish for your treatment of the Winchesters."

"I think not," the angel said. Fortunately for Castiel, Azrael was too busy tooting his own horn to notice the angel blade falling into Castiel's hand. When the once-angel rushed toward the now-angel, the latter was confidently expecting a desperate charge, so while he did somewhat avoid the blow, he didn't try very hard and was therefore nicked by the blade. He gave an injured yell and looked down in shock at the cut in his side. It was enough distraction for Cas to plunge the blade into his heart, effectively ending him. The angel's first mistake had been his assumption that Cas would not care enough to as hard as necessary to save his friends.

Cas immediately dropped his blade after pulling it out of the angel. Before the blade had hit the ground, Cas was kneeling between the two brothers, greatly concerned for their well-being. "Are you alright?" he asked them.

"No. Does it look like we are?" Dean asked. When Cas gave him a hurt look, Dean quickly amended with, "But we will be. Thanks for helping us out there. Sammy was getting worried we wouldn't survive."

"Shut it, Dean," Sam said. Cas found himself smiling at the perceivably harsh words, despite the situation. The fact that both brothers were acting like their normal, brazen selves bolstered his hope of making it out of the situation in one piece.

"We need to get the two of you out of here. I will drive Dean's car. It is parked out back. Would you like me to take you to the hospital?"

"No," Dean said. "We can handle this at the bunker."

"No," Cas rebutted, "we are not waiting that long. We are several hours away from there. We will find a motel room to stay at until I have administered enough first aid to satisfy me, and then we will go to the bunker."

"I agree with Cas," Sam said. "I mean, I'm just this side of needing a hospital. I can't wait until we get to the bunker to get patched up if it's going to be several hours. That's too long and too painful."

"Fair enough," Dean said begrudgingly. "Let's go."

After they had finally gotten a motel room, Cas discovered that the injuries of the Winchesters did consist of burns, bruises, broken fingers, fractured ribs, cuts, gashes, and whip marks on both boys, and a broken nose on Sam. He patched them up, the entire room in silence except for the occasional harsh intake of air. Once he was satisfied that they were properly taken care of, Cas asked if they would rather stay and rest, or go back to the bunker. To his mild surprise, despite both of them looking exhausted, they wanted to go back to the bunker.

After putting the first aid kit and everything else back into the Impala (Cas had found all the boys' belongings and their bags at the warehouse and had taken them into the motel room with them so that the brothers could change into clothes that weren't in bloody, tattered rags), Cas soon had the three of them on the road once again. Dean had claimed shotgun and was soon asleep on Cas's shoulder, making the angel smile. A glance at the back seat informed him that Sam had laid down and was snoozing as well.

When Cas got to the bunker, it was sometime after midnight. He gently aroused the two brothers and led them inside. Apparently, somehow, they had gotten enough sleep in the car that they had enough energy to talk about the very pressing matter of what had happened. It wasn't long before they were all sitting at the kitchen table with steaming mugs of coffee in front of them. "So the two of you will recover from this?" Cas checked.

"Yeah, I think we will," Sam said.

"Good."

"Listen, Cas, about what I said on the phone. I didn't mean that. I mean, I meant that I love you, and that you're the best thing that's ever happened to me, but I don't want what we have to end. I only said that because they had a gun to Sammy's head and they told me that if I said the wrong thing, they'd kill him."

"I know, Dean," Cas said. "I didn't at first, but after I found you I figured it out. All the same, thank you for clarifying that. And I apologize it took me as long as it did to figure out you had been taken."

"Don't worry about it," Sam said quickly. "They were actually pretty smart, and they planned this all out so that you wouldn't know. They wanted you to live the rest of your life in misery thinking Dean never wanted to see you again. This whole thing was a revenge plot. The two shifters wanted to get back at me and Dean for killing their brother, but killing us would have been too easy an end for us. So, the way they tell it, they were going to torture both of us, especially Dean, by having your heart broken, and then physically torture us until the day we died, and they wanted more fire power so they got an angel involved and what he got out of it was you being in pain the rest of your life, because he hates you, and he hates you because he blames you for the fall of the angels."

"I see," Cas said.

Sam looked at Cas and Dean. He was pretty sure they had more they needed to talk about. There was nothing else for him to say tonight. Not to mention he was utterly exhausted despite the coffee he had just finished and his previous energy of five minutes ago. "Well, I'm bushed. I'll see you two whenever we all wake up again. 'Night."

"'Night, Sammy," Dean answered.

"Good night, Sam," Cas said.

Dean looked at Cas. "Let's get to our room," he suggested. Cas nodded and allowed Dean to lead the way.

After entering the room, Cas closed the door. He looked at Dean closely. He was so glad to be seeing the hunter again after so long. He really had missed him.

"What?" Dean asked, having noticed Cas staring at him.

"Nothing," Cas said. When Dean raised a doubtful eyebrow, Cas said, "I just missed you is all."

"I missed you too Cas. And I was worried about you."

"You were worried about me? You were the one who was captured and tortured," Cas said, amazed at the wonder that was Dean Winchester.

"I know, but I knew that they were gonna make me call you and tell you it was over from day one, and I was so scared of how you would react. I knew it would upset you and I just hated that."

"I think I understand," Cas said, and it was true. Whether Dean wanted anyone to realize it or not, he had a pretty soft heart under the tough exterior, especially when it came to his boyfriend - or his brother.

"Well," Dean said after a pause, "I am exhausted, so why don't we hit the sack?"

"Of course," Cas said. He began undressing, as did Dean. Normally Dean would sleep in pants of some kind and no shirt, while Cas slept in a t-shirt and boxers, but tonight they wanted to have as much contact with each other as possible, so without verbal agreement they both stripped down to just boxers before moving to get into the bed.

Cas hadn't thought anything of getting undressed – it was part of a daily routine – until suddenly Dean was grabbing his left arm and turning it so he could get a good look at— Cas cringed. He knew exactly what was happening and all of a sudden he wished he'd never taken off the trench coat. At least he still had the bandage… for now.

Dean had been preparing himself to collapse onto the softest mattress he'd ever slept on when something on Cas's left wrist caught his eye. Exhaustion forgotten, Dean reached forward quickly and took firm hold of Cas's arm with his good hand (only the fingers of his right hand had been messed with and he had a strong enough left hand) before Cas could pull away. There was a bandage there, on the underside of his wrist, and suddenly the cold hand of fear wrapped its fingers around Dean's heart and pushed his stomach down to his toes.

"Cas…?" Dean asked. "Tell me this isn't what I think it is," he pleaded.

Cas couldn't find words to tell Dean. He wouldn't do what Dean was asking, because that would be lying, and he and Dean had promised each other that there would be no secrets or lies between them ever again. He also couldn't tell Dean the truth, because he was afraid of what Dean would do – would he falsely blame himself? Get angry at Cas for being so weak as to come so close to giving up on life? Get angry at him for being stupid enough to believe what Dean had been _forced_ to say to him? Leave him for any of those reasons? He somehow knew Dean would be able to figure out what he had done, but he wouldn't willingly bring that down on himself. So he stayed silent but left his arm limp in Dean's hand and didn't try to fight him.

Sighing, realizing that Cas had decided not to say anything, Dean gently removed the bandage, making a mental note to re-bandage whatever wound this was. Once the bandage was off, Dean took a close look at what had been lurking beneath it. He saw three cuts, going lengthwise up his arm. The third was shorter than the others, and none were deep enough to be severely life-threatening, but they were deep enough that Dean was pretty sure they would scar. The gravity of those cuts suddenly hit Dean, making him feel as if he were going to hit his knees any second. He looked into Cas's bright blue eyes, but those beautiful eyes ran from Dean's, pointing themselves toward the floor, and Dean knew what Cas was feeling in that moment – shame.

"Hey, look at me," Dean said, putting a gentle hand against Cas's cheek. Cas obeyed, but he was so tense it was almost as if Cas was expecting a blow from Dean. "I'm not gonna be mad, but I need you to tell me something. How did these get here?" When Cas remained silent, Dean said, "I need to know. I promise I won't be mad. Just tell me what happened."

Knowing Dean would not relent – not on this topic, not now – Cas took a deep breath before diving into an explanation. "I lost track of time after they made you call me. I barely ate and barely slept. One day, a little less than a week after the call, I woke up on the floor and realized I had just had a dream about you. For some reason that made me feel so desperately hopeless. A weight seemed to settle onto me. I thought of how I would never see you again. I thought of how, as an angel, in heaven, I always had one mission or another I had to take care of. Then, after I rebelled, I had you and your brother. I was either looking out for you, or fighting with you, or doing something with the two of you. Now both the missions of heaven and my time with you and your brother were over. I didn't see how there was anything left for me. I suppose maybe I wasn't thinking clearly in that moment. Or maybe I was. It's all… foggy now. Well, regardless of what was going on inside my head, I went over to my bag and took out a knife. I began cutting along my wrist with the intention of going over it deeper later on, in order to end my life. I was on the third cut when I thought of how odd the whole situation was. That was when I got suspicious and decided to track your phone just in case you were actually in danger." Deciding he had supplied sufficient information, Cas stopped.

Dean took a deep, shuddering breath after hearing Cas explain this. Cas had been minutes away from killing himself. Surprisingly enough, Dean didn't blame himself, for once. The only ones he blamed were the monsters who had done this to them all.

Apparently, Cas took Dean's silence as a bad sign, or maybe he just broke down. Either way, he started sobbing. Dean had only seen Cas cry on very few occasions, and every time it made him hurt for the man, deep down inside. Knowing just what was needed, Dean moved forward and wrapped his arms around the smaller man. Cas instinctively leaned into Dean, allowing the taller man to hold him. Dean whispered soothing words into Cas's ears. "Hey, it's ok. It's gonna be ok, babe. I'm right here and I'm not going to leave you. I love you, Cas, and I always will. That will never change. Not ever. Shhh."

They stood there in the middle of the bedroom for a time. Neither knew how long it was. Finally Cas had cried himself dry and he pulled away from Dean just enough to look into his eyes. "I'm sorry," he said, so quietly that Dean barely heard it.

"No, don't ever be sorry for this, or anything that has happened over the last month," Dean said firmly.

"So you don't hate me?" Cas asked, looking up at Dean with wide blue eyes that almost reminded Dean of a five year old kid in that moment.

"No. I could never hate you. I love you way too much for that. I'm upset that you were in a place dark enough to do this to yourself, but I don't blame you for it any more than I blame you for me and Sam getting taken. I'm just glad you didn't go through with this," Dean gestured to Cas's wrist, "and that you found us when you did. Do you understand, I mean _really_ understand?"

"Yeah, I think so," Cas said. "Thanks Dean."

"For what?" Dean asked, unsure.

"For being so incredible," Cas said with sheer honesty in his eyes.

"Don't mention it. It just comes naturally." After a pause, Dean said more seriously, "Promise me something…"

"Anything," Cas said.

"Promise me that you will never hurt yourself like this again. I don't know if this is something that just came up out of the blue because of that call I had to make, or if you've thought about doing it before and this tipped you over the edge, but if for whatever reason you ever feel like you want to do this again, tell me, ok? I don't care what I'm doing or if I'm with you or not, but you get in touch with me and you talk to me, got it?" Dean had to keep his voice from shaking as he said the words.

Cas nodded. "I had thought of hurting myself before, but I had never crossed that line, and as you said, this 'tipped me over the edge'. If I ever do feel like I wish to do this again, I will contact you."

"Alright, now that that's settled, let's get this bandaged up again and get to bed." Dean took out the first aid kit that he kept in his duffle and sat Cas down on the bed before sitting beside him. After providing the necessary first aid, Dean put the kit away before laying back on the bed beside Cas. He pulled the covers over them both before wrapping his arms around his boyfriend. All three inhabitants of the bunker slept better that night than they had in a month.

* * *

 ** _AN: I hope you enjoyed the final chapter. The epilogue is coming soon! I've already written it so expect it in the next week. Reviews are the best! I need to know how I'm doing! Just to throw this out there, if you ever want a good song to make you cry (this kind of stems off of this chapter), look up 'Why' by Rascal Flatts. It doesn't have much of a happy ending (it does, but it doesn't) so if you want something to make you feel better, look up 'Sound the Bugle' by Bryan Adams. It has a happy ending. Not to spoil anything. I guess that's all I have to say, and it only took close to 4,000 words. :)_**


	6. Epilogue

**_AN: So, here's that epilogue I promised..._**

* * *

 _ **Epilogue**_

It was now two months after Cas had rescued Sam and Dean, and all injuries were healed on the three men, although, per Cas's request, Sam knew nothing of Cas's self-inflicted wounds. Two days after Sam's birthday, Dean sent Cas to the store, using the excuse that they were out of hamburger meat and Dean wanted hamburgers for supper. When Cas asked why Dean couldn't do it, Dean said he had stuff to do. Cas looked at him skeptically, but apparently decided it wasn't worth the effort and just left. As soon as Cas had been gone for an amount of time Dean deemed safe, he hunted his brother down. He found him in his room doing something on his laptop.

"You know, you could knock," Sam said when Dean just opened his door.

"I didn't know if you were actually in here or not," Dean said defensively.

"So what, you just wanted to go through my stuff or something?" Sam asked suspiciously.

"No. I wanted to talk to you, as a matter of fact," Dean said, still sounding defensive.

"Really?" Sam said dubiously. It was a rare day when Dean Winchester went _looking_ to talk to someone. Talking sometimes came dangerously close to chick-flick moments.

"Yeah. I wanted to ask you a question. Your answer may not change anything, but I still thought it might be a good idea to ask."

"Ok, shoot," Sam said, putting his laptop down beside him to show Dean that he had his undivided attention.

"I… Great, now I don't know how to word this," Dean muttered, not looking at Sam. Finally, after a minute, he said, "What would you say about me getting married?"

When Sam didn't say anything for a few seconds, Dean looked up to gauge his reaction. Sam was looking at him… unreadably, which was not ok with Dean. Then he asked, "To whom?"

"Well, Cas, who else?" Dean said, annoyed. What was Sammy thinking?

"Are you asking my permission to propose to your boyfriend?" Sam asked in a tone Dean didn't really appreciate.

"No," he said quickly, although now that he thought about it…

"Well, I guess that's fine with me. You got a ring or something?"

"I wasn't planning on either of us wearing engagement rings. I was just gonna ask him sometime, and then I figure we can pick out wedding bands together. Unless he wants engagement rings we aren't going to do them."

"I get it. Well, let me know once he says yes," Sam said almost casually. If you asked Dean, Sam wasn't taking this thing seriously enough. Then suddenly there was a look on Sam's face that let Dean know he was about to say something that _was_ serious. "Listen, though, if you do anything to hurt him, I care about him too, in a different way than you do, but he's still the closest unrelated friend I have now, so if you hurt him I reserve the right to make you regret it."

"You got it," Dean said. He hadn't expected that from his brother, but now that he'd gotten it, it didn't surprise him.

* * *

A few days later, Dean was laying beside Cas in their king-sized bed when he decided it was time to pop the question. After giving Cas a soft, chaste kiss on the lips, Dean looked in his eyes, making sure the other man was listening, before he said, "Cas, you know I love you, more than anything, right?" When Cas gave him a nod in answer, Dean continued. "Well, I was thinking, and I know the both of us know that we plan to spend our lives together, and that there's no one else but each other, but, well, would you like to, um, marry me?"

Cas looked at Dean, trying to make sure his mind wasn't playing tricks with him. As soon as he was sure, he said, "Yes, Dean, I can't think of anything else I'd rather do."

* * *

The next morning Dean and Cas woke up at the same time. After sharing a short, sweet kiss, they got out of bed, got dressed, and went to the kitchen to find Sam already working on breakfast. He looked at Dean with his eyebrows raised. He'd been giving Dean that look almost every time he saw Dean for the first time after some time lapse, ever since Dean had told Sam of his plan to ask Cas about marriage. Dean wasn't sure whether Sam was trying to make sure Dean didn't forget or he was just trying to figure out if the question had been asked. It was annoying regardless. This time though, Dean just smiled and nodded. If possible, Sam's eyebrows went even higher, although Dean could hardly tell since they disappeared behind his brother's ridiculous hair. He seemed to be asking what Cas had said. "He said yes," Dean told him.

"Congratulations," Sam told them both.

"Thank you," Cas said.

"I'll be right back," Dean said after breakfast was finished. "I gotta take a leak."

As soon as Dean's footsteps had faded, Sam looked closely at Cas. "Listen, I know you love Dean, but you need to understand something. Dean's the best brother I could ever ask for, so if you ever do anything to hurt him, I will make you regret it. Is that understood?"

"Of course, although I do hope you realize I really wouldn't hurt your brother," Cas said, looking puzzled.

"I'm glad to hear it," Sam said, just as Dean returned to the room.

Sam would never know how, but somehow Dean figured out what had happened in his very brief absence. "You didn't," he said to Sam.

"Didn't what?" Sam asked, feigning ignorance.

"Give him the 'hurt him and I'll kill you' talk," Dean said.

"Maybe," Sam said.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Gigantic freak," he muttered at Sam. All that earned him was a hard nudge on the shoulder as Sam moved past him to refill his coffee.

The End

* * *

 _ **AN: Hope everyone enjoyed! As always, leave a review. I have an idea for a new story, but it's questionable whether it's going to come to anything. Don't expect anything for a while because I'm probably not going to start posting a story until I've written all of it If you have a prompt, PM me and I'll see what I can do.**_

 _ **~Silverado17**_


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